Eli Broad to Donate Personal Papers to UCLA

UCLA announced Wednesday that billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad will donate his personal papers to its library.

Decades of records from Eli Broad’s business and philanthropic work will be delivered to UCLA Library in installments, the first of which includes photos, awards and speeches as well as annual reports and a 25th anniversary scrapbook from SunAmerica Inc.

Broad is the founder of SunAmerica and co-founded KB Home. He also made news earlier this month when he confirmed he had made an offer to buy the Los Angeles Times and the San Diego Union Tribune.

Broad, along with his wife, Edythe, opened the $140 million Broad museum earlier this month. The venue, in downtown Los Angeles, houses around 2,000 pieces from their personal art collection. They are also the founders of the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and the Broad Art Foundation.

The decision to choose UCLA has to do with the “longstanding relationship” his family has had with the university among other considerations, he said.

“In considering where to donate my archive, I was impressed with the scholarship of UCLA’s Special Collections and their commitment to access,” Broad said. “I’ve been privileged to start two Fortune 500 companies and to be involved in numerous civic initiatives in Los Angeles, where we’ve lived since 1963. I hope my papers are useful to scholars who are interested in Los Angeles history.”

University officials say such a gift is invaluable to the campus.

“Los Angeles wouldn’t be the city it is today without Eli Broad’s active involvement as a civic, philanthropic and business leader,” UCLA Librarian Ginny Steel said. “His papers document his role in the city’s development and will help students and scholars flesh out their understanding of the region’s history, entrepreneurial expansion and cultural growth.”

The Broads have donated to UCLA in the past, including establishing the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research and the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Center.